Free and open access to Copernicus data: added value for smartphone applications

Weather4D Pro is a smartphone application designed for marine navigation, that can calculate the optimal route for a boat, sailing or fishing vessel's journey, using data from the precursor to the Copernicus Marine Monitoring service, MyOcean2. Each day the application receives an average of 1 000 to 2 000 requests related solely to the data on marine currents, contributing to the increased awareness of the MyOcean2 services amongst the general public.

The Weather4D smartphone and tablet application aims to offer a navigation-oriented global weather forecast through an intuitive and user-friendly interface, in four dimensions (three spatial dimensions and time). The application, which receives between 8 000 and 16 000 user requests per day (depending on the season) was recently upgraded to incorporate data on ocean currents from the precursor to the Copernicus Marine Monitoring Service, MyOcean2, resulting in the release of Weather4D Pro. The ocean current data significantly enhances the application's capabilities for route optimisation.

Weather4D Pro is the first smartphone and tablet application to combine weather and ocean data. It provides information on precipitation, cloud cover, average wind speeds and gusts up to 10 metres above sea level, temperatures up to 2 metres above sea level, marine currents and waves.

The application can calculate the optimal routes for vessels used for leisure boating, sailing and fishing. A theoretical route is generated using information based on the boat’s starting point and its final destination, as well as data relating to the meteorological conditions including the wind, currents and waves predicted along the journey.

Weather4D Pro uses information based on Gridded Binary files (known as GRIB files), which are commonly used in meteorology to store historical and forecast weather data, as well as data from MyOcean2, which provides open and free access to worldwide oceanographic core products.

The MyOcean2 service guarantees, among other things, more accurate route simulation with currents, vector data depicting the outline of the coast (200 m accuracy) and maximum wave height that can assist in determining the safest and most comfortable route for the vessel's journey.

How does Weather4D Pro work?

The Weather4D application is used by firstly selecting the starting point and destination for the journey that the user is planning, at which stage it is necessary to request a weather forecast. As shown in image 2, the user has selected a large area of the English Channel for his/her planned route and has chosen a weather forecast model with a fine grid covering approximately 6 nautical miles.

Once the request is sent, the relevant data file is automatically downloaded and the user can then see data relating to the wind and sea currents, in an animated image. The user can also scroll to see forecasts for different times of the day.

Users obtain information on a faster, safer and more comfortable route

The images below illustrate how the application calculates an optimised route for a particular journey on behalf of the user. In image 6, the user has selected a small area for a route between Cherbourg and the Isle of Wight. The user selected the finest grid weather forecast model available (2.4 NM) and the finest grid marine current forecast model provided by MyOcean2 (close to 1.7 NM – the equivalent of 3 km).

The intended route can be imported from a navigation application, such as iNavX or iSailor. The user selects the date of the journey and the polar diagram[1] of the boat, and can then request the routing calculation (Image 8 and 9) based on the information provided.

The result is an optimised route (Image 10), which provides the fastest, safest and most comfortable option for the user’s journey. In addition, a meteogram[2](graphical and numerical), allows the forecast data for different elements of the sea conditions, such as the wind or the sea current, to be displayed in relation to the boat’s location for the entire length of the route.

The commercial success of this application is demonstrated by high levels of demand, which have reached 16 000 requests per day. Each day generates an average of 1 000 to 2 000 requests related solely to the data on marine currents provided by MyOcean2, contributing to the increased awareness of these services amongst the general public. The increased success of the Weather4D app provides a credible testimony to the added-value that Copernicus provides in the emerging e-navigation sector.

Disclaimer: the European Commission does not endorse any specific commercial enterprise.

[1]A polar diagram is a graphic depiction of the relationship between several variables (speed, angle, current conditions etc.) which is used to predict the potential speed of a sailing boat according to its direction and with regard to the speed and direction of the wind.[2]A meteogram is a time cross-section of data for a specific surface reporting station. The data includes temperature, wind, pressure, clouds and weather conditions.